December 22, 1982
The National Wildflower Research Center, a nonprofit organization based in Austin, was established to increase public awareness and appreciation of North American flora and to facilitate research on native wildflowers, trees, shrubs, and grasses for their preservation and reestablishment. The idea of a national center to study wildflowers and native plants was formulated by Lady Bird Johnson in response to her lifelong interest in the natural world and her concern, especially during the 1960s, about the rapid disappearance of natural areas. In her words, “the founding of the National Wildflower Research Center was my way of repaying some of the debt for the delight and sustenance Nature has given me all my life.”
